TerraCare Software believes that increasing the capacity of individuals to deal with emerging environmental, health, and consumer issues requires not only the development of new problem solving skills but also the opportunity to practice applying them. Simulation, the basis for many TerraCare products, affords students an unlimited opportunity to test new skills in a hands-on, feedback-rich learning environment.

By interacting with a range of scenarios with different initial conditions, feedback mechanisms, sensitivities, and risks students discover the consequences of actions on complex systems whose interdependencies yield both intended and unintended results over the short and long term. The experiences students gain by repeatedly solving problems in a simulated environment accelerates the learning process. For many, similar experiences could never be achieved in real life, given the scope of many complex problems, the costs involved, and the attendant societal and personal risks. By accelerating the process of capacity building, simulation-based learning saves time, a precious resource in the face of the pressing problems we face today.